Compania de Minas Buenaventura S.A.A.

What it is

Buenaventura is Peru’s largest publicly traded precious metals mining company, engaged in the exploration, mining development, processing and trade of gold, silver and other base metals via wholly-owned mines and through participation in joint venture projects.

It currently operates several mines in Peru — Orcopampa, Uchucchacua, Julcani, Tambomayo, La Zanja, El Brocal and Coimolache — and owns 19.58% of Sociedad Minera Cerro Verde, an important Peruvian copper producer in partnership with Freeport-McMoRan and Sumitomo. That Cerro Verde stake alone delivered US$166.5 million in dividends to Buenaventura in FY2024 — a company within the company.

Who owns it

The company was founded by Alberto Benavides de la Quintana on September 7, 1953. The Benavides Ganoza family holds approximately a 27% stake in the company; Harvard-educated Benavides founded Buenaventura in 1953 as the son of a former Lima mayor.

Governance is significantly influenced by the founding family, who maintain a strong presence on the board and in management; while the stock trades on the NYSE and Lima exchange, strategic decisions balance the family’s long-term vision with the demands of institutional shareholders such as BlackRock and VanEck, who are major holders.

Who runs it

Roque Eduardo Benavides Ganoza, the founder’s son, is chairman and former CEO of Compañía de Minas Buenaventura. Leandro García Raggio has been General Manager (CEO) of the company since 2020 — he signed the 2024 Memoria Anual and represents Buenaventura on earnings calls.

Daniel Dominguez Vera has been Vice President and Chief Financial Officer since 2020; prior to that role he served as Supply Chain Manager, and before that as Financial Planning and Investor Relations Manager from 2016 to 2017 and Director of Treasury and Financial Planning from 2012 to 2016.

The money, in plain words

On February 20, 2025, Buenaventura announced its full-year 2024 results, reporting a significant increase in net income to US$402.7 million, up from US$19.9 million in 2023, driven partly by asset sales including the sale of the Chaupiloma Royalty Company. In raw terms, for every dollar of sales the company kept about 35 cents as profit — a net margin of 34.9% (our calculation), exceptionally high for a miner, though partly inflated by that one-time sale.

Strip out the asset sales and look only at what the mines themselves produce: cash earnings from direct operations for FY2024 reached US$431.2 million, more than double the US$199.2 million reported in FY2023. That underlying improvement is real.

The company ended 2024 with a cash position of US$478 million and total debt of US$627 million, resulting in a net debt-to-cash-earnings leverage ratio of 0.34x — lightly borrowed by mining-industry standards.

FY2024 revenue was US$1.15 billion, a 40% jump over FY2023’s US$823.8 million (our calculation from the primary earnings release). The principal driver was a combination of higher silver and gold prices and the reopening of the Uchucchacua and Yumpag silver mines: silver production for the full year reached 15.5 million ounces, a 69% increase compared to 9.2 million ounces in 2023.

Buenaventura’s board proposed a dividend of US$0.2922 per share/ADS for FY2024, the company’s return to a regular payout after years of silence — a signal of restored confidence.

What it is doing now

The most consequential move is the San Gabriel gold project in Moquegua, southern Peru. San Gabriel produced its first doré bar during commissioning tests, a milestone achieved in line with the planned timeline, and the company is progressing toward concluding the necessary arrangements with Peru’s Ministry of Energy and Mines for full-scale production.

San Gabriel is on track to reach a processing rate of 2,000 tons per day in 2026, with production guidance of 70,000 to 80,000 ounces of gold.

On the balance sheet, in February 2025 Buenaventura issued US$650 million in senior unsecured notes maturing in 2032 at 6.8% per year, intending to use the proceeds to refinance its 5.5% notes due 2026 and for general corporate purposes. Separately, Peru approved an environmental study for Buenaventura’s Trapiche copper project, which carries an estimated investment of US$3.4 billion — a potential second transformational asset.

What to watch

• San Gabriel ramp-up: the start-up of San Gabriel will enable Buenaventura to replace production from depleting mines and position the company for significant growth in coming years. Any permitting delay or cost overrun is the key downside risk.
• Cerro Verde dividend flow: Buenaventura holds a significant stake in Sociedad Minera Cerro Verde, a key Peruvian copper producer, and copper-price swings feed directly into this passive income stream — roughly US$167 million in 2024.
• Family succession and board change: in April 2026 Buenaventura reshaped board leadership with a new chairman and lead director, a governance transition worth monitoring for any shift in capital-allocation philosophy.
• Metal prices: with 35% of 2024 revenue coming from silver and gold exposed to global rate and dollar movements, precious-metal price direction remains the single largest external variable.

This is news, not investment advice.